UK degrees ok but students prefer to live in India

London: Reflecting the changing dynamics of
international education, more Indian students are choosing to
continue living in India while being enrolled for courses and
degree qualifications at higher education institutions in the
UK, latest figures show.

Every year, thousands of self-financing Indian students
arrive in UK to study at various universities and
institutions, but increasingly, more students are preferring
to stay and enrol on courses delivered in India, thereby
reducing the cost of gaining UK qualifications considerably.

A spokesman of the Higher Education Statistics Agency
(HESA) told PTI that during the academic year 2010-11, there
were 8,340 students studying in India who were enrolled at UK
institutions for higher education qualifications.

These include students enrolled on distance learning
courses as well as on UK courses delivered in India by local
partner organisations.

The figure of 8,340 students in India is said to be higher
than in previous years.

The latest figure of Indian students coming to the UK to
study is reported to be over 45,000, according to the British
Council, but the increasing number of Indians choosing to
continue living in India may reflect the increasing cost of
studying here as well as the desire to avoid the tighter
student visa regime.

Apart from the cost savings by living in India, the number
of Indian students choosing not to come here but enrol for UK
qualifications delivered in India is also likely to increase
due to the David Cameron government scrapping the Post-Study
Work (PSW) visa from April this year.

The PSW visa has been popular among self-financing Indian
students who seek to recover some of the cost of their course
by working here for two years after completing their course.